Television

Friday, October 9, 2015

GateHouse: Crime-free zones do more harm than good

Matthew T. Mangino

GateHouse Media

October 9, 2015

Officials in Charlotte, North Carolina, are
considering whether to create “public safety zones,” areas within the city
where people with past convictions, and merely arrests, would be restricted
from entering.

Charlotte is not the first city to pursue such restrictions. In 2011, North
Arlington, Texas, home of Cowboy Stadium, made the neighborhoods around the
stadium prostitution-free zones before and during Super Bowl XLV.

In 1992, Portland, Oregon, was the first jurisdiction to create drug and
prostitution exclusion zones. Some crimes, such as prostitution, easily fit
into zones where all such activity is closely monitored and aggressively
pursued.

Fifteen years later, former Portland Mayor Tom Potter abolished the zones,
saying they just moved criminal activity to new areas and that
African-Americans were being disproportionately excluded from the designated
areas.

This is not Charlotte’s first foray into unusual attempts to curb crime. In
2005 the city created “prostitution-free zones” that later expired after three
years, having made no real impact on crime. Two years ago, in another crime
fighting innovation, according to the Charlotte Observer, the city was granted
an injunction that barred gang members from the Hidden Valley Kings from
associating with one another.

One obvious problem with public safety zones is the wide net they cast. An
individual with an arrest, not just a conviction, may be prohibited from
entering a safety zone. This limits a former offender, or a non-offender for
that matter, access to employment, accommodations, medical treatment and other
essential services and recreational activities.

The other problem with public safety zones is that people of color are
disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. As a result,
minority and low-income neighborhoods will be disproportionately affected by
public safety zones.

Research by the Justice Policy Institute conducted in Massachusetts and
Connecticut supports the notion that urban communities of color are
disproportionately impacted by prohibited zones, and that enforcement of the
laws have little or nothing to do with protecting the public. Research also
suggests that there may be sharp disparities in the way crime-free zone laws
are enforced.

Under Charlotte’s controversial proposal, the police chief could designate a
high-crime area as a safety zone in response to crimes such as drug sales or
discharging guns on public property.

Someone who has been arrested for crimes in the area could be issued a notice
that they are no longer allowed to enter, for as long as the safety zone is in
effect. Entering the zone after being prohibited would result in a misdemeanor
charge.

According to Justice Strategies, a Brooklyn based nonprofit research
organization, a stunning 96 percent of New Jersey prisoners sentenced under the
state’s drug-free zone laws were African-American or Hispanic. In Connecticut,
majority nonwhite cities had ten times more zones per square mile than cities
where less than 10 percent of residents were African-American or Hispanic.

Charlotte City Council member Al Austin told the Observer, “We were looking for
additional tools that could address some of the criminal behavior. … We want
something more flexible.” There is some urgency to finding new solutions.
Violent crimes — including homicides — are up this year in Charlotte compared
with 2014.

“Truthfully, I don’t know if they will do any good,” said city council member
Claire Fallon, who chairs the public safety committee. “If someone doesn’t obey
the law, do you think a safety zone will impress them?”

The uses of crime-free zones as proposed in Charlotte have the potential to do
more harm than good. Stigmatizing former offenders and alienating individuals
who are under court ordered supervision may make neighborhoods less safe and
citizens more vulnerable.

Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George
P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was released by McFarland Publishing.
You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter at
@MatthewTMangino.

About Matt

An analysis of crime and punishment from the perspective of a former prosecutor and current criminal justice practitioner.
The views expressed on this blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions or postions of any county, state or federal agency.